Fish filleting machine



Feb. 14,1957 R. 1.. LA PINE Em 3,3

FISH FILLETING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 30, 1964 Feb. 14,1967 R. L. LA PINE ETAL FISH FILLETING MACHINE Filed Jan. 30, 1964 OI-g.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb 1967 R. L. LA PINE ETAL I 3,303,526

FISH FILLETING MACHINE Filed Jan 30, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 14, 1967R, L LA p ETAL v 3,303,526

FISH FILLETING MACHINE Filed Jan. 30, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 M f 2 W 1967R. LA PINE ETAL 3,303,526

FISH FILLETING MACHINE Filed Jan. 30, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 UnitedStates Patent Ofifice 3,3il3,526 Patented Feb. 14, 1967 3,303,526 FISHFHJLETHNG MACHINE Robert L. La Pine, Wells, and Melvin J. Crepearr andRichard J. Pardon, Escanaba, Mich, assignors, by

mesne assignments, to First National Bank of Escanaba,

Escanaba, Mich, a national banking association Filed Jan. 30, 1964, Ser.No. 341,295 19 Claims. (Ci. 174) This invention relates to an apparatusfor dressing fish.

An important object of this invention is to provide an apparatus fordressing fish which efficiently removes the bones from a fish with aminimum of waste of the edible parts of the fish.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus fordressing fish in which the belly cavity of the fish is opened andeviscerated, and the backbone and fins and belly ribs are removed toprovide boneless fillets, all in a continuous and relatively high speedoperation.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for dressingfish in which the backbone with the attached back and belly spikestogether with the dorsal and tail fins are removed as a unit fnom theside portions of the fish and the rib cages thereafter removed from thesevered side portions with a minimum of waste.

A further object of this invention is to provide an apparatus fordressing fish which efficiently cleans and debones fish of differentsize and without requiring adjustment of the machine to accommodate thedifferent size fish.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatusfor guiding the fish between the several cutting and cleaning stationsto achieve accurate location and positioning of the fish relative to theseveral cutters and cleaning implements.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improvedapparatus for removing the belly ribs from a fish half-section to severthe ribs from the fish half-sections with a minimum of connecting tissuetherebetween.

These, together with other obiects and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the description which follows andthe drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through one embodiment of themachine of this invention, taken on the plane 11 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the fish cleaning machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the embodiment of FIG.2, on an enlarged scale with respect to FIG. 2, and with the conveyorbelts removed to facilitate illustration of the construction;

FIG. 4 is a transverse section taken on the plane 4-4 of FIG. 2, on anenlarged scale with respect to FIG. 2, and illustrating a fishpositioned on the inlet fish guide;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken on the plane 5-5of FIG. 2, on an enlarged scale with respect to FIG. 2, and illustratingthe ventral cutters;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken on the plane 66of FIG. 2, on an enlarged scale with respect to FIG. 2, and illustratingthe first intermediate guide for guidingly engaging the fish in theventral slits and for spreading the sides of the fish belly;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken on the plane 77of FIG. 2, on an enlarged scale with respect to FIG. 2, and illustratingthe fish positioned on the first intermediate guide and the rollerarrangement for centering and locating the fish;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken on the plane8--8 of FIG. 2, on an enlarged scale with respect to FIG. 2, through therotary cleaning member;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken on the plane 99of FIG. 2, on an enlarged scale with respect to FIG. 2, and illustratinga fish positioned on the second intermediate guide;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken on the plane10-10 of FIG. 2, on an enlarged scale with respect to FIG. 2, throughthe dorsal cutters;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken on the plane1111 of FIG. 2, on an enlarged scale with respect to FIG. 2, andillustrating the outlet fish guide for spreading the severed fishhalf-sections apart;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken on the plane12-12 of FIG. 2, on an enlarged scale with respect to FIG. 2;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken on the plane13-13 of FIG. 2, on an enlarged scale with respect to FIG. 2, andillustrating the rib cutters;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane 1414 of FIG.1, on an enlarged scale with respect to FIG. 1, and illustrating theconveyor biasing and equalizing mechanism of this invention;

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the successive cutting,guiding and cleaning steps performed by the apparatus of the presentinvention;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged view illustrating the rib cutter as it removesthe rib bones from the side positions of the fish; and

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane 1717 of FIG.1, on an enlarged scale wit-h respect to FIG. 1, and illustrating therib cutter as it removes the rib bones from the side portions of thefish.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fish F areadvanced along a path by a conveyor mechanism and are ventrally cut at aventral cutting station 20, eviscerated at a cleaning station 21,dorsally cut at a station 22 to form two half sections with the ribcages attached and are thereafter moved past a ribbing station 23 wherethe rib bones are removed from the fish half sections. The ventralcutters at the ventral cutting station 20 are advantageously in the formof a pair of spaced rotary blades that form spaced slits in the belly onopposite sides of the anus, anal fin A, belly spikes S1 and tail fin T(see FIG. 15) of the fish and the ventral cutters are positioned withrespect to an inlet fish guide 24 so as to control the depth of the cutformed by the ventral cutters. A first intermediate fish guide 25 ispositioned at the outlet of the ventral cutters and is configured topass the belly spikes, anal fin and tail fin and to spread the sides ofthe fish as it is advanced to the cleaning station 21. The cleaningwheel removes the viscera from the fish and the fish is then guided to asecond intermediate guide 26 which is also advantageously constructed toguide the fish by engagement in the ventral slits and the sides of thebackbone that protrude into the belly cavity as the fish advances to thedorsal slitting station 22. The dorsal cutters also preferably includespaced cutting disks which form dorsal cuts on opposite sides of thebackbone B, back spikes S2, dorsal fins D and tail fin T and whichintersect the ventral cuts to separate the fish into half-sections. Thehalf-sections are then conveyed by the conveyor means past a spreadingguide 27 to the ribbing cutters at the ribbing station 23. The ribbingcutters are preferably in the form of a reciprocable cutter which ismounted for movement at an angle to the direction of movementof the fishand to extend oblique to the ribs R (FIGS. 15 and 16) on the fishhalf-sections to thereby progressively sever the ribs from thehalf-sections as they move thereby.

Reference is now made more specifically to the embodiment of theinvention illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The cutting andcleaning instrumentalities can be mounted on any suitable base and, inthe form shown,

the base includes a generally open frame top 35 having support legs 36and a lower bracing and supporting shelf 37. A generally U-shapedmounting rail 4%) is supported on the top of the base to support thevarious instrumentalities in proper alignment with each other andincludes spaced upstanding sidewalls 41, a top wall 42 and laterallyprojecting fianges 43 at its lower edge for attachment to the top 35 ofthe base.

The fish are beheaded either manually or by a suitable machine prior tobeing fed to the cleaning and deboning apparatus, and a conveyormechanism is provided for advancing the beheaded fish in the directionof their length along the top of the mounting rail 40 past the severalinstrumentalities. The fish conveying mechanism is preferably in theform of a pair of endless belts designated 45 and 45' which areentrained over drive pulleys 46, 46 at one end of the machine and overspaced idler pulleys 47,

47 at the other end to provide two laterally spaced runs for engagingthe outer sides of a fish. The pulleys 47, 47' are mounted on supportingblocks 48, 48 attached to the rails at one end of the machine andadjustable idler rolls 49, 49 are also conveniently mounted on theaforementioned blocks for limited adjustment relative thereto in adirection lengthwise of the machine to enable tightening of the belts.In order to facilitate feeding and positioning of the fish in the spacebetween the adjacent runs of the belts, the inlet ends of the belts arepreferably arranged to converge relative to each other in the directionof movement of the belts. As shown in FIG. 2, a further pair of idlerrollers 50, 50 are provided and spaced apart a distance greater than therolls 47, 47, so that the adjacent runs of the belts are spacedrelatively wider at the inlet end of the machine to enable positioningof the fish with their bellies resting on the inlet guide 24. The driveand idler pulleys are preferably grooved as shown in FIG. 2 to centerthe belt on the pulleys and the drive pulleys 46, 46' are driven at thesame speed, but in relatively opposite directions to advance theadjacent runs of the belts 45, 45' in unison. In the embodiment shown,the drive pulleys 46, 46' are mounted on a gear case 51 attached to theend of the machine and a cross shaft 52 is drivingly connected through abelt 53 to a conveyor drive motor 54, also mounted on the base. Thecross shaft 52 is drivingly connected to the drive pulleys 46, 46' inany suitable manner and may, for example, have right and left and wormgears on the shaft 52 which mesh with worm wheels on the drive pulleysto drive the same in relatively opposite directions, but at the samespeed.

The fish are fed belly side down to the inlet end of the machine eitherby hand or by a suitable auxiliary feeding apparatus (not shown). Thefish are placed with their bellies resting on the inlet guide 24, whichguide has a length somewhat greater than the length of the fish to becleaned and a width which substantially spans the space between theadjacent runs of the belt 45, 45'. The inlet guide member is mounted onthe rail 44 and, in order to facilitate alignment of the several guidemembers of the rail, the top 42 of the rail is preferably formed with alongitudinally extending groove 42' which receives a downwardlyprojecting rib 24 on the inlet guide member (see FIG. 4). Fasteners 56are provided for detachably se curing the inlet guide member to therail. The belly of the fish rests on the inlet guide member 24 and thelatter is formed with a groove 58 in the upper surface which tapersinwardly in the direction of movement of the fish along the guide asshown in FIG. 2 to aid in centering the belly, and the anal fin A andtail T of the fish as it is advanced along the guide. Forwardprojections 59 are provided on the inlet guide and extend on relativelyopposite sides of the cutters at the ventral cutting station 20 tosupport the underside of the fish as it passes the ventral cutters.

The ventral cutters at the ventral cutting station 20 are preferably inthe form of spaced disks 61 which are disposed at the outlet end of theinlet guide member 24 and form spaced ventral cuts in the fish as theypass thereover, which cuts extend through the belly of the fish and onopposite sides of the anus, anal fin, belly spikes and tail fin of thefish. The blades 61 are mounted on a shaft 62 supported in a bearing 62'attached to the mounting rail 40. The axis of the shaft 62 is disposedbelow the upper edge of the inlet guide 24 and the peripheral cuttingedges on the dual blades 61 project to a level somewhat above the top ofthe inlet guide 24. The spacing between the top of the ventral cutters61 and the top of the inlet guide 24 determines the depth of cut intothe ventral side of the fish and is selected so that the cuts extend toa point somwhat adjacent the backbone B of the fish as shown in FIGS. 1and 5. The ventral cutters can be rotated in either direction and, inthe embodiment illustrated, are rotated in the direction indicated bythe arrow in FIG. 1 so that the top of the blade moves in a directionopposite the direction of movement of the fish. The periphery of theblades are preferably formed with notches 61' shaped to form teeth witha hook angle on the leading edge thereof to aid in cutting the thinbelly skin. The blades 61 are spaced apart a distance so that the anusand anal fin together with the belly spikes and tail fin can passbetween the blades to enable removal of these parts as a unit with thebackbone and dorsal fin when the fish reaches the subsequent dorsalcutting station 22. The ventral cutters 61 remove some of the visceraand the top portion :2 of the mounting rail 40 is cut away as indicatedat 60 to allow the viscera to pass downwardly. Shield and guide plates60' are preferably provided between the sides of the mounting rail toconfine and guide the viscera.

An intermediate or spreader guide 25 is mounted on the rail 46) at theoutlet of the ventral cutting blades 21. The spreader guide 25 is alsopreferably formed with a rib or key 25' (FIGS. 6 and 7) which seats inthe groove 42 on the support rail to laterally center the guide thereon.As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the guide 25 has an inlet end 25a which isrelatively narrow and approximates the spacing of the ventral cutters61, and an outlet end 2517 which is relatively wider to open the bellycavity of the fish as it advances pastthe spreader guide. The spreaderguide has a longitudinal groove 63 (FIGS. 6 and 7) in its top face whichdefines laterally spaced guide rails having upper guide edges 63'. Theguide rails are spaced apart to receive the belly spikes, anal fin andtail of the fish as it is advanced by the conveyor means and the upperguide edges are preferably disposed at a level adjacent the top of theventral cutters 61 to engage in the ventral slits and guide the fish. Inaddition, the outer side faces 64 of the spreader guide preferably taperupwardly as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 and substantially merge with theupper guide edges 63'. Thus, as the fish passes over the guide 25, thesides of the fish are spread laterally apart and are open relativelywider at the bottom of the fish to facilitate cleaning at theeviscerating station. In addition, the belly spreader guides 25 also aidin maintaining the adjacent runs of the belts 45, 45' spread apart whenthere is no fish therebetween so as to prevent cutting of the belts bythe ventral cutters 61.

The rotary lcleaning member at the eviscerating station 21 isadvantageously in the form of a wheel having spaced disk portions 68which define a peripheral groove 69 therebetween to receive the bellyspikes and anal and tailfins of the fish. The cleaning member ispreferably driven in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1 sothat the top surface moves in a direction opposite the direction ofmovement of the fish and is supported on a shaft 70 mounted in a bearing71. In order to assure cleaning of the belly cavity of the larger sizefish which are fed through the machine, the upper periphery of thecleaning wheel 68 is disposed at a'level above the upper guide edges 63on the belly spreader guide 25. If a relatively small fish is passedthrough the cleaning machine, it will be cammed upwardly by engagementwith the rotary cleaning Wheel 68. However, if a relatively large fishis passed through which has its backbone spaced above the upper level ofthe intermediate guide 63', then the cleaning wheel will still projectupwardly a sufiicient distance to remove the viscera from the sides ofthe belly cavity of the fish. The cleaning member 6% is preferablyformed of a solid material such as plastic or the like, which can bemolded or machined to the proper shape, and is advantageously formedwith ribs such as 68 on its outer surface (see FIG. 3) which aid inscrubbing the sides of the belly cavity. The ribs taper inwardly towardthe periphery of the cleaning wheel so that the latter has a generallyV-shaped cross-section which conforms generally to the belly cavity ofthe fish. As will be seen from FIGS. 1 and 8, the top wall 42 of themounting rail is cut away in the area below the cleaning wheel asindicated at 73 to provide clearance for the cleaning wheel and to allowthe viscera to pass therethrough. As shown in FIG. 1, shield plates 74and 75 are mounted between the sides 41 of the rail, at the front andrear of the cleaning wheel to confine and guide the viscera as it isdirected downwardly.

The second intermediate guide 26 extends from the eviscerating stationto the dorsal cutting station and includes an elongated guide member 78which is detachably secured as by fasteners 79 on the top of the mainsupport rail 40 and which preferably has a rib or key 78' (FIG. 9) tolaterally position and center the guide member on the support rail. Theinlet end 81 of the guide member is preferably contoured complementaryto the adjacent side of the cleaning wheel 68 so as to overlie the rearportion of the cleaning wheel, as best shown in FIG. 1. The sides of thefish as it leaves the cleaning wheel 68 are spread apart and the guide78 has a lateral width which corresponds generally to the width of thecleaning wheel so as to maintain the sides spread apart. The guidemember has laterally spaced rail portions 82 at its upper side, whichrail portions converge upwardly as shown in cross-section in FIG. 9 anddefine upper guide edges 82' at their top which are spaced apart adistance sufficient to receive the belly spikes and anal and tail fin ofthe fish. The guide edges 32 of the guide member 26 are disposed atleast as high as the top of the rotary cleaning Wheel 68 and preferablyslightly higher as shown in FIG. 1 to engage and support the undersideof the fish along the opposite sides of the backbone. The inlet end ofthe upper guide edges curve downwardly as shown in FIG. 1 to aid inguiding the backbone of the fish into position so that the guide railsstraddle the backbone. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outlet ends83 of the rail portions 82 of the intermediate guide member extendalongside opposite sides of the dorsal cutters at one dorsal cuttingstation 22 to support the opposite sides of the fish during the dorsalcutting operation. The bottom of the intermediate guide 78 and the topportion of the mounting rail 40 are cut away as indicated at 84 and 85to provide a downwardly facing discharge opening between the space railsections 82, a shown in FIGS. 1 and 10. Shield plates 86 and 87 areattached to the inside of the main support rail 40 to form a chute whichconfines and guides the backbone removed at the dorsal cutting station.The dorsal cutters at the dorsal cutting station 22 are also preferablyin the form of a pair of laterally spaced disks designated 91 arrangedto form spaced dorsal cuts in the back of the fish as it is guided alongthe guide edges 82'. The dorsal cutters 91 are mounted on a shaft 92disposed suificiently above the guide edges so as to not interfere withthe passage of the fish therebelow and the shaft is rotatably mounted ina bearing 93 mounted on the main support rail. In order to minimizewaste of the edible portion of the fish along the backbone, the cuttingdisks 91 are spaced approximately the same as the cutting disks 61 so asto cut closely adjacent opposite sides of the dorsal fin and back spikeson the fish. The cutting members 91 are preferably in the form of thinresilient disks which can spread laterally as required to pass over thebackbone of the fish. As will be seen, the cutters extend downwardlybetween the upper guide edges 82' of the intermediate guide member to alevel below the upper guide edges so as to intersect the ventral cutsmade by the cutters 61' and to completely sever the backbone with theattached back and belly spikes, dorsal fin and anal fin from theopposite sides of the fish. The rib cages are severed from the backboneby the dorsal cutters 91 and the rib cages pass with the opposite sideportions of the fish to the subsequent ribbing station 23. The dorsalcutters are preferably rotated in the direction indicated by the arrowin FIG. 1 so that the leading edge of the cutters move downwardlythrough the fish halves and aid in ejecting the backbone and attachedback and belly spikes through the discharge opening. The backbone B isshown in phantom in FIG. 10 as it is ejected downwardly through thedischarge opening between the rail sections 82. A stripper guide 95 isadvantageously provided to extend between the cutter disks 91 and, asshown, is in the form of a stationary arcuate finger that extends from apoint adjacent the hub of the cutter disks downwardly to the dischargeopening 85. A shield 96 is preferably provided to overlie the top of thedorsal cutter and to inhibit slinging of the viscera or water.

The fish half sections with the attached belly spikes are advanced bythe conveyor means past the outlet guide 27. The upper edges of the fishhalf sections are spaced relatively close together as they leave thedorsal cutters 91 and the lower portions are spread apart as previouslydescribed. Accordingly, the outlet guide 27 includes an upstanding guidemember 99 having vertical height substantially greater than the width ofthe fish and which member is mounted as by fasteners 101 on the upperedge of the main support rail 40. The outlet guide member 99 hasopposite guide faces 102 which taper upwardly and inwardly at the endthereof adjacent the dorsal cutters 91, and which are generally parallelat their outlet ends. Thus, the opposite side faces of the outlet guidemember 99 diverage relative to each other as viewed in plan (see FIGS. 2and 3), in the direction of movement of the fish, to laterally spreadthe fish half-sections.

The ribbing cutter located at the ribbing station 23 is preferably inthe form of a reciprocable cutter which is operated at a relatively highspeed and which is movable in a path crosswise of the direction ofmovement of the fish and which extends oblique to the ribs on the fishhalfsections so as to cut the ribs from the fish half-sections in aprogressive manner beginning at the ends of the ribs which were cut fromthe backbone. The ribbing station includes spaced guide plates 105 whichare disposed substantially parallel to each other and coplanar with theoutlet end of the guide faces 102 on the outlet guide 99. The plates 105define generally planar or generally flat outer faces and a meansincluding the belts are provided for pressing the fish half-sectionsagainst the outer faces of the guide plates to deform the rib cages onthe fish halfsections to substantially planar configuration. As usedherein, the terms generally fiat and generally planar refer to theoverall surface configuration of the guide plates and not to a specificsurface finish, and it is intended that these terms apply not only tosmooth fiat surfaces or true plane surfaces, but also to surfaces whichmay deviate therefrom so long as the fish sections, when pressed againstthe surfaces of the guide plates, have the rib bones deformed from theirnormal arched configuration to a somewhat straightened configuration.The guide plates 105 have a trailing edge 106 which is disposed at anacute angle to the direction of movement of the fish and is preferablyinclined downwardly and forwardly with respect to the path of movementof the fish as shown in FIG. 1, at an angle of about 45 As shown in FIG.13, the top 42 of the main support rail has an opening 108 formedtherein and the guide plates 105 extend downwardly through that opening.The

lower edges of the guide plates are conveniently attached to the rail asby fasteners 109 which extend through vertically elongated slots 110 topermit limited vertical adjustment of the guide plates and, preferably,shims designated 111 (FIG. 13) are interposed between the guide platesand the walls of the opening to enable control of the spacing betweenthe guide plates. The upper edges of the guide plates 105 areconveniently supported by a pin 113' that extends through a slot inbracket 113 attached to the outlet end of the outlet guide member 99. Aswill be seen, the fasteners 109 can be tightened to clamp the plates 105in adjusted position.

A fillet guide and cutter support member 115 is mounted on the top ofthe main support rail 40 as by fasteners 116. The member 115 haspreferably parallel opposed side faces which guide the bone free filletsas they are advanced by the conveyor means to the'discharge end of themachine. A guideway 118 is formed at the forward end of the member 115and is positioned at an acute angle to the path of movement of thecutters to extend downwardly and forwardly in a direction generallyparallel to the edges 106 of the guide plates 105. A cutter 120 ismounted for lengthwise reciprocation in the guideway and along a pathparalleling the guide edges and has a pin 120 (FIG. 1) that extends intoa slot (not shown) in the guideway to retain the cutter in the guideway.As shown in FIG. 13, the cutter 120 has spaced cutting edges 121 and 122which are laterally spaced apart a distance preferably slightly greaterthan the spacing between the outer faces of the guide plates 105 so thatthe cutting edges overlap the planes of the guide plates a small amount,for example about .004 inch for a perch. The cutting edges are spacedfrom the edges 106 of the guide plates in the direction of movement ofthe fish a distance which is controllable by the aforementionedadjustment of the guide plates 105 and sufficient to allow the severedribs to enter the space between the edge 106 and the cutting edges 121and 122. For example, a spacing of about .140 inch between the edges 106on the plate 105 and the respective cutting edges 121, 122 on the cutterhas been found suitable for cutting the ribs off perch. Since the ribs Ron the fish are somewhat thicker at the top than the bottom, the spacebetween the edges 106 and the cutter edges can be made somewhat less atthe bottom, for example about .090

the space between the edge 106 of the guide plates and the cutting edges121 and 122, they will tend to resume their curved configuration and theends will project into the space between the cutter and the guideplates. the cuttter is inclined downwardly and forwardly, the upper endsof the ribs which were severed from the backbone initially project intothe opening between the guide edges 106 and the cutter, and the ribs arethen cut progressively from the side portions of the fish as the sideportions move past the reciprocating cutter. The cutter isadvantageously formed with a concave face 120' as shown in FIG. 13 todeflect the ribs laterally of the plane of the guide plates, and therebyaid in stripping the ribs off the side portions of the fish. The cuttersoperate at a relatively high speed as compared to the speed of movementof the fish and, for example, the cutter may be reciprocated at a speedof the order of 2400 cycles per minute and have a stroke of aboutone-half inch while the conveyor belts have a speed of around 720 inchesper minute. Any suitable mechanism may be provided for reciprocating thecutter and, as shown, a cutter drive motor 125 is mounted on a bracket126 attached to the main frame and is coupled to a mechanism 127 whichconverts the rotary motion of the motor to reciprocating motion. Themechanism 127 has a reciprocating output shaft 128 which is connected asby a link 129 to the cutter to reciprocate the same. Similarly, anysuitable Since mechanism may be provided for driving the ventralcutters, the belly cleaner and the dorsal cutters. In the form shown, aseparate drive motor designated 131 is mounted on the base and haspulleys 132 and 133. The pulley 132 is connected through a belt 134 topulleys 135 and 136 on the belly cleaner shaft and ventral cutter shaftrespectively. The other pulley 133 is connected through a belt 138 to apulley 139 on the dorsal cutter shaft. In this manner, the ventralcutter, belly cleaner and dorsal cutter are all rotated at a similarspeed and may, for example, be driven at a speed of about 1725revolutions per minute.

The belts 45, 45' are preferably formed with roughened surfaces to gripthe fish therebetween and a plurality of pressure applying members areprovided at spaced points along the adjacent runs of the belt tomaintain the belt in firm engagement with the fish and to aid incentering and positioning the fish as it passes the successive stations.In the embodiment shown, a plurality of pairs of rollers designated141a-141f are provided. The construction and mounting of the severalpairs of rollers are similar and like numerals designate correspondingparts. shown in FIG. 4, the rollers are each supported on pairs ofgenerally upright shafts 143 which are journalled in the main supportrail 40. An arm 144 is attached to the upper end of each of the shaftsand extends laterally thereof and rollers 145 are mounted on stub shaft146 adjacent the outer ends of the arms. Provision is made forequalizing movement of the rollers of each pair so as to maintain thefish properly centered therebetween and, for this purpose, intermeshingsector gears 148 are attached to the shafts 143 of each pair to assureequal and opposite movement of the rollers. A spring means, herein shownin the form of coil springs 149 are operatively connected to theshafts143 to urge the rollers in a direction to press the belts inwardly.

In the embodiment illustrated, one set of opposed pairs of rollers 141ais provided in advance of the ventral cutting station and the rollers ofthis pair are mounted for turning movement about generally upright axesso as to maintain the belts generally upright at this point. A secondpair of rollers 141b are mounted at the belly spreading guide 25 and, asshown in FIG. 7, these rollers are canted or inclined inwardly so as togenerally parallel the side of the belly spreader guide 25 to press thefish downwardly onto the upper guide edges 63 of that guide. A pluralityof pairs of rollers 141c-141d and 1412 are provided along the secondintermediate guide 26 and these rollers are similarly mounted so thattheir axes are canted or inclined upwardly and inwardly to generallyparallel the inclined rails 82' and press the fish downwardly againstthe upper guide edges 82', while centering the fish on the rails.Rollers 141i are mounted at opposite sides of the outlet guide and forrotation aboutupright axes to press the sides of the fish againstopposite side faces of the outlet guide. Since the fish is split intohalf sections at the time it passes the rollers 141 it is not necessaryto provide means such as the sector gears 148 for equalizing lateralmovement of these rollers.

As previously mentioned, the fish half-sections are pressed against thegenerally flat sides of the guide plates 105 to deform the rib cagesinto substantially planar configuration. In the preferred embodimentillustrated, the pressure applying means includes generally fiatpressure applying plates 151 which engage the outer sides of the belts.The pressure applying plates are swivelly sup ported so as to uniformlyapply pressure over the lower portion of the belts opposite the ribcages and, as shown, are supported for tilting movement about generallyupright axes 152 in yokes 153. The yokes 153 are, in turn, supported onbrackets 154 for'swinging movement about axes 155 toward and away fromthe belts. The pressure applying members areyieldably urged intoengagement with the lower portions of the belts by springs 156 attachedto arms 157 on the yokes and to adjustable anchors As best 9 153 on themain support rail. In this manner, the lower portions of the adjacentruns of the belts are yieldably urged inwardly at the filleting stationby a controlled pressure and the belts press the rib cages on theadjacent side faces of the fish half-sections against the plates 105 todeform the rib cages into substantially planar configuration. The upperportion of the belts which are not engaged by the pressure applyingmembers, apply a relatively lighter pressure to the boneless topportions of the fillet thereby preventing the blade from slicing offmeat when there are no bones.

Water is supplied to the apparatus at various points along the machineto aid in cleaning and flushing the machine and the fish as it passestherethrough. As best shown in FIG. 1, the water is supplied from acommon manifold 161 which conveniently overlies the top of the machine.Flow through the manifold is controlled by a valve 162 convenientlymounted on the base of the machine. A plurality of nozzles designated16311463 are provided at spaced points along the manifold to directwater to the several instrumentalities. As shown, nozzles 163a arearranged to direct water in the area adjacent the belly cutters 21 toaid in flushing the viscera removed at this station and the nozzles 163are provided adjacent the eviscerating station to also assist inremoving the viscera. The nozzles are conveniently in the form offlexible tubes which can be bent to extend in any suitable direction andmay, for example, be directed downwardly against the fish as well asupwardly into the belly cavity. Further nozzles 163a and 163d areprovided at the ventral cutting station and nozzles 163:2 and 163 areprovided adjacent the ribbing station for flushing the rib bones andwaste material down throu h the discharge openings at those stations. Atrough 165 is mounted on the base below the several discharge openingsto collect the viscera and waste and to convey it to one end of themachine. Thus, the viscera including the backbone with the attached backand belly spikes and dorsal and ventral fins and rib cages are allconveyed by the trough 165 to a common Waste station. The bone freefillets are carried with the conveyor belts 45, 45' to the other end ofthe machine where they can be collected on a platform or conveyor (notshown).

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction of the apparatusand the manner in which it performs the method of the present inventionwill be readily understood. The fish which are first beheaded andpreferably scaled are placed between the conveyor belts 45, 45' with thebellies of the fish resting on the inlet guide 24 as diagrammaticallyshown in FIG. 15. The rollers 141a press the belt into engagement withthe opposite sides of the fish and the belt feeds the fish past theventral cutters 61. The upper periphery of the ventral cutters is spacedabove the upper guide edges of the inlet guide 24 a distance to formspaced ventral cuts through the belly of the fish and on opposite sidesof the belly spikes to the tail of the fish, which cuts extend to adepth which is sufiiciently deep so that the dorsal cutting operationwill thereafter completely sever the side portions of the fish. Therelatively converging sides of the groove 58 in the inlet guide aid incentering the belly, anus and tail fin of the fish as it is advanced tothe ventral cutters. The rollers 14111 adjacent the belly spreader guidepress the belts and the fish against opposite sides of that guide. Thebelly spikes S1, anal A and tail T on the fish pass through the groovein the spreader guide so that in the guide 25 in conjunction with therollers 141b, functions to center the fish as it enters the cleaningwheel 68. The cleaning wheel scrubs the inside of the belly cavity andhas a groove 69 which allows the belly spikes and ventral fin to passtherethrough. The top of the cleaning wheel is disposed at a level abovethe top of the ventral cutters and, if a small fish is fed through themachine, the cleaning wheel will force the fish upwardly as it passesthereover and will efi'iciently scrub the inside of the belly cavity.

However, if the fish is relatively larger so that the ventral cutters donot extend all the way to the backbone of the fish, the cleaning wheelwill still project upwardly to a level sufficient to adequately removethe viscera from the belly cavity of the fish. The guides 26 aredisposed at a level at least as high as the top of the cleaning wheeland preferably slightly higher and the rollers 141c-141e are canted asshown in FIGS. 7 and 8 to press the belts and the fish downwardly. Thisassures that even the relatively large fish will be firmly guided alongthe edges 82' to vertically locate the fish. In addition, the inclinedside walls of the rails 82 in conjunction with the canted rollers andthe guiding of the belly spikes of the fish between the rails, assuresproper lateral positioning and centering of the fish as it enters thedorsal cutting station 22.

The dorsal cutters form spaced cuts in the back of the fish and extenddownwardly between the guide edges 82 to intersect the ventral cuts andcompletely sever the side portions of the fish from the backbone. Thebackbone, with the attached back and belly spikes, dorsal fin, ventralfin and tail are discharged at the dorsal cutting station through theopening 85 and the stripper guide is provided to aid in forcing thebackbone out from between the dorsal cutters. The fish half-sectionswith the rib cages attached are advanced to the ribbing station. As theyreach the ribbing station, the rib cages are pressed against thegenerally flat plates to deform the ribs into a substantially planarconfiguration. As the ends of the ribs R that are severed from thebackbone reach the edge 106, they tend to curve inwardly. In addition,the opposed cutting edges of the reciprocable cutter are spacedoutwardly of the plane of the side faces 105 a slight distance so as toengage the ribs and sever the ribs from the side portions of the fish.The cutter extends downwardly and forwardly at an angle to the path ofmovement of the fish and extends oblique to the ribs so as toprogressively sever the ribs from the fish half-sections, beginning atthe ends of the ribs that were severed from the backbone. The ribs asthey are severed from the side portions of the fish are deflectedinwardly by the concave face of the cutter which thus aids in strippingthe ribs from the side portions. The bone free fillets are then carriedby the conveyors to the discharge end of the machine.

While the particular fish cleaning and boning machine herein shown anddisclosed in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects andproviding the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understoodthat it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiment ofthe invention and that no limitations are intended to the details ofconstruction or design shown other than as defined in the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for dressing beheaded fish comprising, conveyor meansfor advancing fish along a path with the belly facing downwardly, aninlet guide for engaging the underside of the belly of the fish tosupport the same, a pair of laterally spaced rotary ventral cuttersmounted on an axis disposed below the level of the inlet guide andadjacent one end thereof and having cutting edges extending above thelevel of the inlet guide to form spaced ventral cuts through the bellyof the fish and on opposite sides of the anus and belly spikes to adepth adjacent the backbone of the fish, means disposed in the path ofmovement of the fish for eviscerating the fish, an intermediate guideincluding a pair of laterally spaced rail sections spaced apart toreceive the belly spikes of the fish therebetween and defining spacedupper guide edges for straddling the backbone of the fish to support andcenter the 'fish, and a pair of spaced rotary dorsal cutters mounted onan axis disposed above the level of the intermediate guide and havingcutting edges extending downwardly between the upper guide edges on theintermediate guide to 1 l sever the backbone with the back and bellyspikes attached from the side portions of the fish.

2. An apparatus for dcessing beheaded fish comprising, conveyor meansfor advancing fish along a path with the belly facing downwardly, aninlet guide for engaging the underside of the belly of the fish tosupport the same, a pair of spaced rotary ventral cutters mounted on anaxis disposed below the level of the inlet guide and adjacent one endthereof and having cutting edges extending above the level of the inletguide to form space ventral cuts through the belly of the fish and onopposite sides of the anus and belly spikes to a depth adjacent thebackbone of the fish, means disposed in the path of movement of the fishfor eviscerating the fish, and intermediate guide including a pair oflaterally spaced rail sections spaced apart to receive the belly spikesof the fish therebetween and defining spaced upper guide edges forstraddling the backbone of the fish to support and center the fish, apair of spaced rotary dorsal cutters mounted on an axis disposed abovethe level of the intermediate guide and having cutting edges extendingdownwardly between the upper guide edges on the intermediate guide tosever the backbone with the back and belly spikes attached from the sideportions of the fish, and deflector means extending between the dorsalcutters for guiding the backbone out from between the cutters, saidinlet guide being substantially wider than the spacing of said ventralcutters and having a groove in the upper surface which is substantiallywider than the spacing of the ventral cutters at the inlet side of theguide, said groove decreasing in width in a direction toward saidventral cutters to aid in centering the belly of the fish and to centerthe anal and tail portion of the fish as it is advanced to the ventralcutters.

3. An apparatus for dressing beheaded fish comprising, conveyor meansfor advancing fish along a path with the belly facing downwardly, aninlet guide for engaging the underside of the belly of the fish tosupport the same, a pair of spaced rotary ventral cutters mounted on anaxis disposed below the level of the inlet guide and adjacent one endthereof and having cutting edges extending above the level of the inletguide to form spaced ventral cuts through the belly of the fish and onopposite sides the the anus and belly spikes to a depth adjacent thebackbone of the fish, means disposed in the path or movement of the fishfor eviscerating the fish, an intermediate guide including a pair oflaterally spaced rail sections spaced apart to received the belly spikesof the fish therebetween and defining spaced upper guide edges forstraddling the backbone of the fish to support and center the fish, apair of spaced rotary dorsal cutters mounted on an axis diposed abovethe level of the intermediate guide and having cutting edges extendingdownwardly between the upper guide edges on the intermediate guide tosever the backbone with the back and belly spikes attached from the sideportions of the fish, and deflector means extending between the dorsalcutters for guiding the backbone out from between the cutters, saidspaced rail sections of said intermediate guide having upwardlyconvergent outer side faces to aid in centering the fish on the guide.

4. An apparatus for dressing beheaded fish comprising, conveyor meansfor advancing fish along a path with the belly facing downwardly, aninlet guide for engaging the underside of the belly of the fish tosupport the same, a pair of spaced rotary ventral cutters mounted on anaxis disposed below the level of the inlet guide and adjacent one endthereof and having cutting edges extending above the level of the inletguide to form spaced ventral cuts through the belly of the fish and onopposite sides of the anus and belly spikes to a depth adjacent thebackbone of the fish, a rotary cleaning member disposed in the path ofmovement of the fish and having a peripheral groove for passing thebelly spikes on the fish, an intermediate guide including a pair oflaterally spaced rail sections spaced apart to receive the belly spikesof the fish therebetween and defining spaced upper guide edges forstraddling the backbone of the fish to center the fish, a pair of spaceddorsal cutters having cutting edges extending from a point above theintermediate guide downwardly between the upper guide edges on theintermediate guide to sever the backbone and back and belly spikes fromthe side portions of the fish.

5. An apparatus for dressing beheaded fish comprising, conveyor meansengageable with opposite sides of a fish for advancing the same along apath with the belly facing downwardly, an inlet guide for engaging theunderside of the belly of the fish to support the same, a pair of spacedrotary ventral cutters mounted on an axis disposed below the level ofthe inlet guide and adjacent the outlet end thereof and having cuttingedges extending above the level of the inlet guide to form spacedventral cuts through the belly of the fish and on opposite sides of theanus and belly spikes, a first intermediate guide extending from theventral cutters and in the direction of movement of the fish, said firstintermediate guide having spaced guide rails to receive the belly spikesof the fish therebetween and upper guide edges disposed at a leveladjacent the top of the ventral cutters, a rotary cleaning memberdisposed at the outlet end of the first intermediate guide and having aperipheral groove for receiving the belly spikes on the fish, a secondintermediate guide extending from the cleaning member in the directionof'movement of the fish and having spaced guide rails for receiving thebelly spikes of the fish, said second intermediate guide having spacedupper guide edges straddling the backbone of the fish and in the ventralslits to guide and support the fish, and a pair of spaced rotary dorsalcutters mounted on an axis disposed above the second intermediate guideand extending downwardly between the upper guide edges on the secondintermediate guide to sever the backbone with the back and belly spikesattached from the side portions of the fish.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said upper guide edges of saidsecond intermediate guide are disposed at a level above the upper guideedges of said first intermediate guide.

7. The combination of claim 5 wherein the outer periphery of the rotarycleaning member extends to a level above the upper guide edges of saidfirst intermediate guide and the upper guide edges of said secondintermediate guide are disposed at a level at least as high as the topof the rotary cleaning member.

8. An apparatus for dressing beheaded fish comprising, conveyor meansengageable with opposite sides of a fish for advancing the same along apath with the belly facing downwardly, a pair of spaced rotary ventralcutters for forming a pair of ventral slits on opposite sides of theanus and belly spikes of the fish as it is advanced along said path, afirst intermediate guide extending from the ventral cutters and in thedirection of movement of the fish, said first intermediate guide havingspaced guide rails to receive the belly spikes therebetween and beingshaped to spread the belly cavity, a rotary cleaning member disposed atthe outlet end of the first intermediate guide and having a peripheralgroove for receiving the belly spikes of the fish, a second intermediateguide extending from the cleaning member in the direction of movement ofthe fish and having spaced guide rails for receiving the belly spikes ofthe fish therebetween, said second intermediate guide having spacedupper guide edges for straddling the backbone of the fish and in theventral slits to guide and support the fish, and a pair of spaced rotarydorsal cutters mounted on an axis disposed above the second intermediateguide and extending downwardly between the upper guide edges on thesecond intermediate guide to sever the backbone with the back and bellyspikes attached from the side portion of the fish, an outlet guideextending from the dorsal cutter and to a rib cage removing station,said outlet guide having a generally flat side face, means for pressinga side portion of the fish against said face of the outlet guide as theside portion moves past the rib cage removing station, and a ribbingcutter having a cutting edge extending crosswise of the direction ofmovement of the fish along said path and generally paralleling said sideface of the outlet guide, and means for oscillating said ribbing cutterin a direction crosswise of the direction of movement of the fish alongsaid path to sever the ribs from the side portion of the fish.

9. An apparatus for dressing beheaded fish comprising, conveyor meansengageable with opposite sides of a fish for advancing the same along apath with the belly facing downwardly, a pair of spaced rotary ventralcutters for forming a pair of ventral slits on opposite sides of theanus and belly spikes of the fish as its is advanced along said path, afirst intermediate guide extending from the ventral cutters and in thedirection of movement of the fish, said first intermediate guide havingspaced guide rails to receive the belly spikes therebetween and beingshaped to spread the belly cavity, a rotary cleaning member disposed atthe outlet end of the first intermediate guide and having a peripheralgroove for receiving the belly spikes of the fish, a second intermediateguide extending from the cleaning member in the direction of movement ofthe fish and having spaced guide rails for receiving the belly spikes ofthe fish therebtween, said second intermediate guide having spaced upperguide edges for straddling the backbone of the fish and in the ventralslits to guide and support the fish, and a pair of spaced rotary dorsalcutters mounted on an axis disposed above the second intermediate guideand extending downwardly between the upper guide edges on the secondintermediate guide to sever the backbone with the back and belly spikesattached from the side portion of the fish, an outlet guide extendingfrom the dorsal cutter and to a rib cage removing station, said outletguide having generally flat side faces, means for pressing the sideportions of the fish against said side faces of the outlet guide as theside portions move past the rib cage removing station, and a ribbingcutter having spaced cutting edges generally paralleling said side facesof the outlet guide and disposed at an angle to the direction ofmovement of the fish along said path such that the cutting edges extendoblique to the belly ribs, and means for reciprocating said ribbingcutter in a direction generally lengthwise of its cutting edges to severthe ribs from theside portions of the fish.

10. The combination of claim 9 wherein said ribbing cutter has atransversely concave face extending between said cutting edges todeflect the ribs laterally of the respective side portion of the fish.

11. In an apparatus for removing the ribs from fish sections comprising,a guide having a generally flat face, means for moving a fish sectionacross said face with the ribs pressed thereagainst, a reciprocablecutter having a cutting edge generally paralleling said flat face of theguide, and extending at an angle to the path of movement of the fishalong the guide such that the cutting edge first engages the ends of theribs that are severed from the backbone and extends oblique to the ribs,and means for reciprocating said cutter in a direction generallyparallel to its cutting edge to progressively sever the ribs from thefish sections as they move past the cutter.

12. In an apparatus for removing rib bones from fish sectionscomprising, a guide having a generally fiat face, means for moving fishsections along a path across said face with the ribs pressedthereagainst, said guide having an outlet edge inclined at an angle tothe path of movement of the fish and extending oblique to the ribs onthe fish as they move therepast, a reciprocable cutter having a cuttingedge generally paralleling said flat face of the guide and extending atan angle to the path of movement of the fish in spaced relation to saidoutlet edge of the guide, means for reciprocating said cutter along apath generally parallel to its cutting edge to sever the ribs from thefish sections as they move past the cutter.

13. In an apparatus for removing the rib bones from fish sectionscomprising, a guide having a generally flat face, means for moving fishsections along a path across said face with the ribs pressedthereagainst, said guide having an outlet edge inclined at an angle tothe path of movement of the fish and extending oblique to the ribs onthe fish as they move therepast, a reciprocable cutter having a cuttingedge generally paralleling said flat face of the guide and extending atan angle to the path of movement of the fish in spaced relation to saidoutlet edge of the guide, means for reciprocating said cutter along apath generally parallel to its cutting edge to sever the ribs from thefish sections as they move past the cutter, and means at the front sideof said cutter for deflecting the rib bones laterally of said face ofthe guide as the ribs are severed from the sections.

14. In a device for filleting fish comprising, a pair of deformableflexible conveyor means engageable with opposite sides of a fish toadvance the same along a path, means including a pair of spaced cuttersdisposed between said conveyor means for cutting the fish into twohalf-sections as the fish is advanced by the conveyor means, a guidedisposed between said conveyor means having spaced generally flat outerside faces, means including said conveyor means for pressing theadjacent faces of the fish half-sections against said side faces of theguide, reciprocable cutting means having spaced cutting edges adjacentto and generally paralleling a respective one of said side faces of theguide, and means for reciprocating said cutting means in a directionparallel to its cutting edges to sever the ribs from the fish sections.

15. In a device for filleting fish comprising, a pair of deformableflexible conveyor means engageable with opposite sides of a fish toadvance the same along a path, means including a pair of spaced cuttersdisposed between said conveyor means for cutting the fish into twohalfsections as the fish is advanced by the conveyor means, a guidedisposed between said conveyor means having spaced generally flat outerside faces, means including said conveyor means for pressing theadjacent faces of the fish half-sections against said side faces of theguide, reciprocable cutting means having spaced cutting edges adjacentto and generally paralleling a respective one of said side faces of theguide, and extending at an angle to the path of movement of the fish bythe conveyor means to lie oblique of the ribs on the fish, and means forreciprocating said cutting means in a direction lengthwise of itscutting edge to sever the ribs from the fish sections.

16. In a device for filleting fish comprising, a pair of deformableflexible conveyor means engageable with opposite sides of a fish toadvance the same along a path, means including a pair of spaced cuttersdisposed between said conveyor means for cutting the fish into twohalfsections as the fish is advanced by the conveyor means, a guidedisposed between said conveyor means having spaced generally flat outerside faces, means including said conveyor means for pressing theadjacent faces of the fish half-sections against said side faces of theguide, reciprocable cutting means having spaced cutting edges adjacentto and generally paralleling a respective one of said side faces of theguide, and extending at an angle to the path of movement of the fish bythe conveyor means to lie oblique of the ribs on the fish, and means forreciprocating said cutting means in a direction lengthwise of itscutting edge to sever the ribs from the fish sections, said cuttingmeans having a transversely curved face extending between said cuttingedges for deflecting the ribs laterally of the respective half-sectionof the fish as the ribs are severed from the fish half-sections.

17. An apparatus for dressing fish comprising conveyor means foradvancing fish along a path with the belly facing downwardly, a pair ofspaced ventral cutters having cutting edges to form spaced ventral cutson opposite sides of the anus and belly spikes of the fish to a depthadjacent the backbone of the fish, fish guide and centering meansaligned with said cutters and including a pair of laterally spaced railsections being spaced apart to receive the belly spikes of the fishtherebetween and defining spaced upper guide edges for straddling thebackbone of a fish to support and center the fish, and fish dressingmeans aligned with said gide and centering means.

18. In an apparatus for removing the rib bones from fish sectionscomprising, conveyor means engageable with a fish section for advancingthe same in the direction of the length of the fish, fish guideapparatus defining a guide face for engaging the rib bones on the fishsections as they are advanced by the conveyor means, means for pressingthe ribbed side of the fish sections against said guide face, and acutter means for removing rib bones from the fish sections,characterized in that the cutter means includes a cutter having at leastone cutting edge, means supporting the cutter for oscillation in adirection generally lengthwise of the cutting edge and with the cuttingedge extending adjacent said guide face 'at an angle to the direction ofmovement of the fish sections by the conveyor means such that thecutting edge is disposed oblique to the rib bones to progressively severthe rib bones from the fish sections, and drive means for oscillatingthe cutter.

19. In an apparatus for removing rib bones from 'fish sectionscomprising, fish moving means engageable with a fish section foradvancing the same longitudinally in the direction of the length of thefish, fish guide apparatus defining a guide face for engaging the ribbones on the fish sections, said guide face having an outlet edgeextending transverse to the direction of advance of the fish, means forpressing the ribbed side of the fish section laterally against saidguide face as it is advanced therepast, and cutter means for removingthe rib bones from the fish sections, characterized in that the cuttermeans has at least one cutting edge in close adjacency to said outletedge of said guide face and spaced therefrom a minimum distancesufficient to allow the rib bones to pass therebetween, means supportingsaid cutter means for oscillation in a direction lengthwise of said onecutting edge to sever the rib bones from the fish'sections, and drivemeans for oscillating said cutter means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,466,614 4/1949Rivers Q. 17-3 2,697,849 12/1954 Hunt 174 2,704,378 3/1955 Schlichting17-4 2,771,633 11/1956 Bartels et al. 17-45 2,911,668 11/1959 Johnson1745 3,003,186 10/1961 Eriksen 17-'3 SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

H. P. DEELEY, 111., Assistant Examiner.

1. AN APPARATUS FOR DRESSING BEHEADED FISH COMPRISING, CONVEYOR MEANSFOR ADVANCING FISH ALONG A PATH WITH THE BELLY FACING DOWNWARDLY, ANINLET GUIDE FOR ENGAGING THE UNDERSIDE OF THE BELLY OF THE FISH TOSUPPORT THE SAME, A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED ROTARY VENTRAL CUTTERSMOUNTED ON AN AXIS DISPOSED BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE INLET GUIDE ANDADJACENT ONE END THEREOF AND HAVING CUTTING EDGES EXTENDING ABOVE THELEVEL OF THE INLET GUIDE TO FORM SPACED VENTRAL CUTS THROUGH THE BELLYOF THE FISH AND ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE ANUS AND BELLY SPIKES TO ADEPTH ADJACENT THE BACKBONE OF THE FISH, MEANS DISPOSED IN THE PATH OFMOVEMENT OF THE FISH FOR EVISCERATING THE FISH, AN INTERMEDIATE GUIDEINCLUDING A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED RAIL SECTIONS SPACED APART TORECEIVE THE BELLY SPIKES OF THE FISH THEREBETWEEN AND DEFINING SPACEDUPPER GUIDE EDGES FOR STRADDLING THE BACKBONE OF THE FISH TO SUPPORT ANDCENTER THE FISH, AND A PAIR OF SPACED ROTARY DORSAL CUTTERS MOUNTED ONAN AXIS DISPOSED ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE INTERMEDIATE GUIDE AND HAVINGCUTTING EDGES EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY BETWEEN THE UPPER GUIDE EDGES ON THEINTERMEDIATE GUIDE TO SEVER THE BACKBONE WITH THE BACK AND BELLY SPIKESATTACHED FROM THE SIDE PORTIONS OF THE FISH.